


Loophole

by melagan



Category: Stargate Atlantis
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, SGA Reverse Bang Challenge 2016
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-27
Updated: 2016-04-27
Packaged: 2018-06-04 20:31:33
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,830
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6674509
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melagan/pseuds/melagan
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Divergent canon universe. John is the only one not surprised when an angel comes through the Stargate.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Loophole

**Author's Note:**

  * Inspired by [Opus 17 by outsideth3box/Loophole by melagan: sgareversebang](https://archiveofourown.org/works/6674503) by [outsideth3box](https://archiveofourown.org/users/outsideth3box/pseuds/outsideth3box). 



> Written as a pinch hit for SGA Reverse Bang 2016. Thank you outsideth3box for the quick beta and the intriguing artwork that gave birth to the idea behind the story. Click the link to Opus 17 for the full size art.
> 
>   
> 

Colonel John Sheppard raised himself up on one elbow and brushed the dream cobwebs away from his face. Before he could ask, Atlantis raised the lights to a soft glow. 

"Thanks." John didn't know if there were any particular need to thank the city, but his momma had raised a polite boy and he figured a little courtesy couldn't hurt.

His quarters hadn't changed any since he'd moved in. Right now, that was a good thing. His dreams were so disturbing lately. When he added that on top of the general weirdness of aliens, Stargates, and an Ancient city that liked him, it made waking up surrounded by the familiar a comfort he appreciated. 

He checked his watch. Too damn early. With a sigh, he pulled back the covers and got up. He wouldn't be going back to sleep anytime soon. John rubbed his hand over his bristles and decided to get coffee first. A shave could wait.

Dr. Zelenka ran his lab 24/7 and John could always snag a coffee there. As near as he could tell, all of the scientists had caffeine in their veins instead of blood. If one of them, like Zelenka, tended to be a prima donna over his coffee beans it was a small price to pay for having their asses saved on a regular basis. That business of using lightening to power the shield still impressed the hell out of him. 

All of this being just a way for his brain to skirt around the real issue – his dreams. He should be having nightmares about the Wraith, or even the Genii. Hell, even he'd take a sex dream starring Ladon Radim over this last one. Anything was better than dreaming about the angels again.

They weren't regular angels. It might even be nice to dream about harps and floaty clouds, but no, John's dreams were full of damaged angels crying for help, and always about one in particular. 

Well, he'd had enough. John yanked a tee shirt over his head and slipped into yesterday's jeans. Not bothering with shoes, he padded out the door in his stockinged feet, Atlantis warming the floors for him on the way. He wasn't going to think about this anymore until he'd had at least one strong cup of coffee. 

***

By the time he'd poured his second cup, John's mood had lifted. He took this one out to his balcony with a plan to drink it while watching the sun come up. He figured seeing dawn rise was a damn good reminder that there was still hope in the universe. Hope. Now that was something he could use after last night's dream.

Funny about that. Nothing particularly horrible happened to John in his dreams. No Iratus bug sucking his life away, no gunshot wounds, hell, he hadn't even been shot with stunner fire. Lucky him, that kind of fun stuff remained reserved for real life. Still, the dreams left him with a feeling of cosmic horror that he couldn't shake. 

He'd just gotten his feet propped up in a comfortable position when the gate room alarm went off.

"We have an unscheduled off world activation, Colonel Sheppard," Chuck announced over the intercom. "Sir, you should know, we have no personnel off world right now."

"On my way." John grabbed his sidearm, shoved his feet into his boots, and headed for the gate room at a dead run. He arrived in time to see the water still shimmering inside the gate. He jogged up to Elizabeth, who greeted him with a terse nod. 

"Why isn't the shield up?" John asked. 

Elizabeth looked like she'd been woken from a sound sleep. One of the Marines handed her a mug of hot tea and she latched onto gratefully. "They've been trying," she said, between one cautious sip and the next." Something keeps interfering."

"Interfering? How? And how long has the gate been open like that?" John asked.

"About five minutes longer than it should have been. As to what's causing the interference, Dr. Zelenka is still trying to figure that out." Elizabeth nodded at Chuck who responded immediately.

"Still no sign of activity, ma'am." Chuck's hand hovered over the console's display. "Wait. Something's coming through now."

John might have been the only one here not surprised to see what walked through the Stargate. 

"What…who is that?" Elizabeth asked. Shaking her head, she regained her composure faster than anyone else in the room. 

John had a quick impression of a stricken face, and sharp, blue eyes just before their unexpected visitor collapsed in a heap.

"Chuck, get a med team down here, as soon as possible." Elizabeth took a step towards the fallen man.

John put out a hand to stop her. "Elizabeth, no. We don't know yet if he's dangerous."

Elizabeth lifted an eyebrow at that, but she halted her approach. "We have to help."

John figured it didn't take a genius to know that as soon as she'd seen the man's golden wings, Elizabeth's thinking defaulted to – angel – therefore good. She should know better. Hadn't they learned with the Goa'uld that godlike creatures tended to be evil? 

Then again, she hadn't had the dreams. Maybe she really couldn't grasp what a harbinger of bad news this could turn out to be. Grimly, John set his jaw and refused to let Elizabeth move any closer. 

Despite Elizabeth's obvious sympathy, John also refused to tell his men to lower their weapons. He intended to keep an armed guard on the angel as long as it took. He signaled to two of his Marines. "If he even twitches, stun him."

Carson and his team came running in and John had to give the doc credit, he barely blinked at the sight of the angel's wings. It was a sharp reminder that Carson had years of experience working with the SGC long before John had even known that it, or aliens, existed.

With a curt nod to Elizabeth, he followed Carson, his new patient, and the Marines back to the infirmary. John stayed out of the way, but he kept a careful eye on the proceedings, and his hand by his Colt. 

"How is it, Doc? Is he gonna make it?" John asked. 

"I believe so." Carson rubbed at the back of his neck. For the first time, John got the feeling that the doc might just be a little overwhelmed by it all. 

Carson deftly cut away the angel's dirty and blood stained garment. It might have been a white toga once, but there was no way to tell that now. "Marie, if you wouldn’t mind?"

He watched silently, as between the two of them, Carson and Marie deftly turned the angel over onto his front exposing his back. For the first time, John got a good look at his wings.

In his dreams, they’d always shined gold, even when they drooped with exhaustion. They looked dull in this light, as if all of their vibrance had been drained away. It made his chest hurt. John barely stopped himself from stepping up and offering to help Carson wash the blood from those damaged wings.

He held fast. Everything in his dreams warned him about this – this angel of fire and war. Granted, right now he didn’t look like he could smite a mosquito. 

"Is there anything at all you can tell me about him?" John asked.

"At a guess, I judge he's not quite a match to our human DNA, but I suspect not as far off as you might think considering his appearance." Carson stepped over to his computer and began checking the diagnostics scrolling up on the computer screen. His eyes widened. "Oh my. There's a possibility that our guest here could actually be an angel."

He continued staring at the screen, seeming to forget that John was there. Carson began muttering to himself. "Possibly some variant of an ascended race we haven't seen yet. Or maybe… something similar to Dr. Jackson's post-ascended DNA…yes…that could be it…."

"Carson!" John interrupted, dragging the doctor's attention back to the present. "Doesn't this freak you out?" 

"Not freak out, no." Carson stopped to rub his eyes. "Bloody computer screen...oh right, our patient. Well, I suspect we'll find out his normal heart rate is a bit higher than ours. Likely there's less mass to his bone structure as well, unless his wings are just decoration, but I'll know more once all of his tests come back."

"Carson, did you find any concealed weapons on him?" Damn it, John knew he should have thought of this earlier. He simply couldn’t allow his bad dreams to throw him off his game like this.

"We found nothing but the rags he had on his back." Carson shot John a pointed look. "I'm sure he could use a friend. He’s going to have a rough enough time fitting in as it is."

"What makes you think he’s staying?" John asked, barely able to keep the growl out of his voice.

"Because the one word he managed to whisper in my ear before passing out was – sanctuary."

***

When John finally did get to question the angel things didn't go at all liked he'd planned. 

The angel sat up in bed, happily scraping up the last of the blue jello with his spoon. "This is fantastic!" He turned to John, pathetically holding out his now empty bowl. "Is there more?"

"No." Looking into those expectant blue eyes John felt his resolve crumple. "Maybe later. Right now, you have to get some clothes on, and then we'll get you settled into your new quarters."

Elizabeth's decision to treat the angel as a guest instead of as a prisoner didn't set well with John. Although, even he had to admit, the only threat from the angel so far was to their jello supply. "Uh, what do I call you?"

The angel stuck out his hand, accompanied by a lopsided grin. "Rodney. It's a new name for a new life. I think it suits, don't you?"

"Sure." John couldn't come up with any argument against an angel who wanted to call himself Rodney. Not when there was a naked alien running around the _Daedalus_ by the name of Hermiod.

John cooled his heels while Rodney changed behind a privacy curtain. He spent the time wondering how Rodney could put on his pants without being over-balanced by his wings. At least it explained the toga.

"So," Carson said, walking up to John, "I see you've come to collect your angel."

"My angel? When did he become my angel?" 

"It's common knowledge, Laddie. A blind man couldn't miss it. We've all seen the way you stuck to Rodney's bedside, putting off your own need to sleep, and arranging for Major Lorne to take over your duties so that you could be here. At first I thought you were just fascinated by his wings, but it's plainly more than that."

"It is?" 

"Aye." Carson clapped his hand down on John's shoulder. "Good to see our Rodney here has made one very good friend already." Carson cleared his throat. "I don't suppose I have to remind you that we've a good supply of condoms and lube. No questions asked." 

Fuck no. John spent all his time here because he was standing guard. Hadn't anyone realized that? "I was standing – ."

"Hello there?" Rodney blithely interrupted. One wing swung around and clipped John in the side. "Oh. Sorry. Are we ready now?"

Carson wore the hopeful look of every matchmaker John had ever run into. Since burying his face in his hands wasn't an option, and the floor wasn’t likely to swallow him up, he grabbed Rodney's arm and moved towards the door. "Yeah, let's get out of here."

John was all for taking Rodney to his new quarters shoving him inside, setting the lock, and putting an armed guard outside the door. He should have known it wasn't going to be that simple. He tried hustling Rodney down the hall but the angel insisted on stopping and looking out every window. 

"Oh look, a balcony! Can we go outside?" Without waiting for an answer, Rodney brushed past John and stepped out onto the balcony. 

He was all ready to say something, he really was, but then Rodney unfurled his wings. The light caught them at an angle and suddenly they were the golden, powerful wings of John's dreams. 

"Oh my, that is impressive," Rodney said.

"What?" John choked out, his mouth gone suddenly dry.

"The view, the ocean, the sky, all of it. I've never seen anything like it." 

"Um, really?" Crap, could he come up with a more inane response? John took a deep breath. "Look, I need to ask you some questions."

Rodney turned to face John and with an airy wave, encouraged him to continue.

"I need to know what you're doing here. What do you want from us?" John's voice grew deadly serious when he asked, "Are you planning on starting a war?"

A look of horror, the same look from his worst dreams ghosted across Rodney's pale face and John braced himself for bad news. 

"No. Never. That's why I came here, to get away from war."

"Okay." John stared back at him carefully reassessing his dreams. Angels trying to escape a war instead of starting one could actually explain a lot. "Let's say I believe you. Who are you fighting?"

"The Ori of course."

"The Ori." A chill went down John's spine. If angels couldn't win against the Ori what chance did humans have? And, if this were all true, he'd need to get a message to General O'Neill ASAP, but first he needed facts. "Angel, you and I are going to have a long talk." 

Before he could continue, Teyla stepped out onto the balcony. Not that John wasn't glad to see her, but with her quiet step she'd completely caught him by surprise. Oh hell, he'd let the angel distract him again. 

Ronon joined them, standing aside as Teyla greeted John, Athosian style. He felt more comfortable now with the forehead touching thing than he had in the early days. At least it didn’t leave him feeling quite so foolish. Heck, he’d even initiated it when it seemed important enough. 

"I thought the two of you weren't coming back from the mainland until tomorrow?" Relief and pride washed through John. His team would have his back no matter how dangerous things got. 

"We heard rumors…" Ronon shot a pointed look in Rodney's direction. "Looks like they were true."

"Yes, we wanted to see your angel for ourselves." Teyla said.

"Why does everyone think he's my angel?" First Carson, and now his teammates. If this kept up John was going to have to find out what everyone was smoking. 

"You don't know?" Ronon folded his arms across his chest and grinned. "You'll figure it out."

Exasperated, John looked at Rodney hoping he'd at least he'd shed some light on Ronon's comment. But, the angel just looked back at him with a slightly bemused expression, and didn't say a damn word.

"You really can’t see it?" Ronon asked.

"Clearly he cannot," Teyla chided.

"Not helping, guys." John cast an annoyed glance in Rodney's direction. Still no help there.

"John." Teyla pointed at his face. "That is why."

"Huh?" John touched his chin. It didn't feel any different."Maybe you and Ronon should lighten up on the harvest festivities for a while, Teyla."

"Ronon and I did not attend a harvest festival on the mainland – this time. However, I will let Halling know that you are quite eager to attend the next one." She smiled.

John winced.

"As I was saying, when you look at Rodney, your face... it changes…it's difficult to explain." She looked up at Ronon for help. 

"Your face gets shiny. It sort of glows, Sheppard. Whenever you look at him." Ronon shrugged. "I’ve never seen anything like it. It’s a good look on you though."

John suspected his mouth was opening and closing like a fish, but he was just too stunned for words. He finally managed to choke out, "I think we're done here. Come on, Rodney, it's time to show you where you'll be staying." 

Mustering his remaining dignity, he grabbed Rodney by the elbow and dragged him along with him, successfully escaping any further comments about his face or anything else glowing.

*** 

If John had any expectation of what Rodney's reaction would be to his new quarters, it sure wasn't this.

Rodney stood in the center of the room looking distraught. "This is all wrong."

"It's a standard set up," John said.

"Where's the poster of the man? And the guitar? What happened to the black curtains with, you know, the sparkles? I liked the sparkles. They reminded me of Heaven." Rodney stood in the center of the room, his wings flexing in agitation.

"You're describing my quarters." 

"Yes! Isn't that supposed to be my room?" He must have noticed the confusion on John's face because he added, "Oh, didn't you know? The dreams go both ways."

John held up his hand, both to stop Rodney from trying to spread his wings in the enclosed space, and to get a handle on the conversation. "You're saying, I witnessed your war but you saw my bedroom?"

Rodney snapped his fingers, "Exactly!"

"Yeah, well I think I know who got the short end of the stick on that one, buddy." John sighed. "Anything else I should know about besides the shared dreams?"

"Well, I'm absolutely certain we're supposed to share a room. Obviously, we're going to need something larger than this. A place this small is just asking for a wing cramp." He made a show of being unable to open one wing to prove his point. ‘Ow’, he mouthed, for good measure. "Oh, and a place with a large balcony. With a view." He sighed wistfully. "I'd really like a view."

"I'll see what I can do." Biting back his first reaction of – hell no – it occurred to John that this might not be all bad. Sharing a suite of rooms would be one way to keep a close eye on Rodney. Granted, running the idea past Elizabeth could turn out to be more interesting than he cared for.

Loathe to leave Rodney while he got the matter sorted, he radioed Teyla. "Can you keep an eye on Rodney for me? Maybe you and Ronon can take him to the mess, get him a cup of coffee or something. He likes jello."

He was going to suggest they introduce him to Dr. Zelenka but John wasn't sure he wanted Rodney roaming about in any of the labs without him. "I shouldn't be long, Teyla, I just need a few minutes to speak with Dr. Weir."

"Of course, John. Ronon and I would be glad to keep your angel company."

John grit his teeth. There seemed no point in emphasizing again that Rodney was not his angel, despite how badly he wanted to. "Look, just be careful."

"We will let no harm come to Rodney."

John sighed. That wasn’t what he meant at all, but he let it slide. It was that or discuss his dreams over the radio. Yeah – and maybe he should ask Rodney if heaven ever froze over.

*** 

Talking to Elizabeth made John's head hurt. Why did she, and everyone else, accept Rodney's presence here as if there weren't a damn thing weird about a golden winged angel walking around Atlantis?

True, he probably should have worded it better. He might have avoided the picture book lecture. Where had she even gotten it? John narrowed his eyes. She'd enjoyed pointing out pictures of the Reol, the Kull, Blue aliens, Mimetic aliens, Unas – the list went on – a little too much. On the other hand, no wonder a mere angel didn't make the SGC veterans blink. 

"Perhaps you would you like to see the picture of the Asgard, again?" Elizabeth asked.

Someone should tell her that particular vengeful look in her eye was not appealing. And no, John did not want to look at another naked alien. He hadn't even seen Rodney naked.

He'd had his chance in the infirmary when Carson cut away the angel's toga. But John hadn't been able to tear his gaze away from those wings long enough to get a good look at anything else. Not that he'd wanted to. Because he didn't.

"Earth to John," Elizabeth said, her mouth smirking up at the corner. "Is there anything else you'd like to tell me?"

Everyone else might have gone soft and goofy over Rodney, but John still didn't trust him. "I’d like to request larger quarters to share. With…him." There, that hadn't sounded too awkward. John didn't even have to point out it that was surefire way to keep tabs on Rodney. Let Elizabeth think he was just being friendly. 

Elizabeth smiled at him like this was the most brilliant idea ever. It belatedly occurred to John that he might have overplayed the friendly aspect. "We're not – ".

Holding up her hand to stop him, Elizabeth shook her head. "There's no reason to explain and I certainly won't be asking." 

She flipped open the file on her desk. "As it turns out I already have a request on my desk for larger accommodations for the two of you. I think we can do better than one large room, John. Find yourselves a suite that the two of you can agree on and it's yours."

Damn it, that bastard angel had gotten ahead of him, again. And, he still hadn't answered all of his questions about the Ori war. 

John’s eyes widened as he got a look at the paperwork sitting on her desk. He abruptly stood, almost knocking his chair over in the process. "I should go get Rodney."

Elizabeth waved him off. "Yes, do that." 

He slipped out of Elizabeth’s office repressing a shudder. Somehow, this was all Rodney’s fault he knew it. As he headed for the mess, John just hoped he could forget ever seeing the pictures of hearts and halos that Elizabeth had drawn all through her notes. 

***

Yes, Rodney had gotten his way but John didn't really mind. The view from the tower rooms was pretty damn great. Granted, their living space still looked half empty. Between the two of them there hadn't been much to move. John pulled up a packing crate and sat down. "Take a load off, Rodney. It's time for you to cough up some answers." 

"You want to know about Heaven's war with the Ori." Rodney’s shoulders slumped.

"Got it in one, Angel."

"What do you know about alternate universes?" 

"Some. Dr. Zelenka went on a bender after our last Wraith attack. I got to listen to a full on spiel about divergent universes while trying to sober him up. John wagged his palm in a balancing act. "I'm a little concerned that the pressure is getting to him."

Rodney pulled up a crate of his own, sat down, and hunched forward. "So, you understand there are any number of heavens in existence at any given time. Mine happens to be the one the Ori are trying to destroy."

His gaze shifted away from John and his wings drooped. "I'm a coward. There I've said it." 

"Care to explain that?" 

Rodney sighed. "Defeated angels were being thrown out of heaven, left and right. Some were extinguished on the spot, some were tossed down to Earth by the Ori. Others deliberately fell trying to escape. It was a slaughter, you know."

John did know. He'd dreamt it in living color.

"For angels, falling to Earth tends to result in a one way trip to hell. I couldn't risk it, but I couldn't stay. Then I found you through the dreams, and I found out about the Stargate. It was the perfect loophole. All I had to do was make the connection and walk through, no falling required."

Rodney lifted his head and John found himself staring into sad, blue eyes. "I'm not proud of fleeing."

"You were hurt." In the dreams, John had seen him bleeding and bruised, the same way he'd looked when he came through the gate.

Rodney nodded. "Damaged and a liability at that point, as well as distraction to the Powers." 

John let his eyebrows ask the question.

"The Powers? Protectors. Heaven's class of warrior angels. Good at smiting but not exactly the cuddly sort. They'd have left me to die and they would have been right to do so."

"You were injured and out of resources. It sounds to me like a strategic retreat," John said. As much as he hated to add to Rodney’s distress, he had to ask, "Will anyone try to follow you to Atlantis and make trouble for us?"

Rodney shook his head. "I destroyed that connection when I came through. There's no going back. Even if I could, I wouldn't exactly be welcomed with open arms."

John knew a little something about feeling lost and on your own. That's the only excuse he had for the next words that tumbled out of his mouth. "How would you like to be on my reconnaissance team?"

"Really?" 

"Yeah, really. AR-1 could use a fourth, and as I hear it, you're something of an expert on Ascension."

*** 

Rodney wasn't just an expert on Ascension. He read and spoke fluent Ancient, and according to Radek Zelenka, knew far more about physics than he let on. Radek had a well-constructed argument as to how Rodney must be one of the Virtues – when he could get someone to listen. John just tried not to think about it too much because it made his brain hurt.

While Rodney’s knowledge of Ancient made a good argument for their case, Elizabeth still hesitated to let Rodney join John’s team. Most of her concern centered in whether or not to let an angel go off world. Fortunately, Ronon and Teyla were there to back John up. 

"There are many uninhabited worlds where we may still find technology left behind by the Ancients," Teyla said to Elizabeth. "Rodney's gifts could be invaluable in such circumstances."

"Yeah," Ronon agreed. "He'd be good at that, better than Sheppard. And I can teach him to fight."

"I see you're all in agreement." After a pause so long John was certain she was going to say no, she relented. "Very well, I'll allow it – provisionally. At the first sign of trouble I may have to rethink my decision." 

The next day, standing in front of the Stargate and ready to go on their first off world mission together, John had to admit the four of them made an impressive team. Teyla, lithe, capable and composed, Ronon, a fierce warrior and talented tracker, Rodney with his wings and knowledge of the Ancients, and himself, commanding the best damn team Pegasus had to offer. 

Teyla and Ronon took point, and John and Rodney brought up the rear as they stepped into the Stargate. They stepped out onto a rocky platform built in the middle of an open field. It was daylight, a couple hours after dawn judging by the sun's position. 

John picked this place because of its isolation. He wasn’t quite ready to deal with the attention he suspected Rodney would attract. The place looked deserted. So far, so good.

He pointed to a rocky tower in the distance. "That's our destination. We got as far as getting the door open last time, but that just led us to another locked door. We didn’t try to open it because of the Ancient text engraved on it. It could be a code, a warning, or something else." John shot Rodney an encouraging smile. "We're hoping you can help us with that, Rodney."

"Couldn't you have just taken a picture of it?" Rodney groused.

"Sure." Ronon twirled his ray gun and grinned. "But, where's the fun in that?"

As they walked, Teyla asked, "Why do you not fly, Rodney? Are you still healing?"

John wondered about the answer to that himself. He'd never seen Rodney so much as attempt to fly.

"Gravity. As in you have it here." Rodney held his arms out wide. "It’s everywhere." He shrugged. It had the interesting effect of making all of his feathers shake at once. "I think I've defied death enough for awhile. Attempting to dive off a height without accounting for gravity is more suicidal than I'm up to these days."

The idea that Rodney wasn't able to fly hit John like fist to his gut. "You had to give up flying?"

"I don't like to think it's for forever. After all, the Archangels managed it when they visited Earth. They always made it look easy, the show-offs. So, maybe I can manage it in the future? Hm, it's an interesting physics problem at least." 

The conversation died off after that. They made good time to tower, and accessed the main door with no more trouble than they’d had the first time. When they got to the inner door, the three of them stood around and waited for Rodney to finish reading the inscription.

"Figures." Rodney waggled his finger at the doorway as if it had caused him some personal offence. "Whatever's in here has to do with Ascension. The Ancients really did have a one track mind."

"Any chance there's something in there we can use as a weapon?" John asked.

"Using an ascension device as a weapon would be like dropping a shortwave radio into a tub of water. You're going to get results but it's a horrible misuse of resources. On the other hand, I'm sure we can find some crystals to salvage so this shouldn't be a totally useless endeavor." 

Rodney took one look at John's face, cleared his throat and added, "There could be weapons."

As off world excursions went, John was happy to say this one went off without a hitch. No one shot at them, no alarms went off, and when they handed Zelenka a knapsack full of crystals the scientist grabbed onto them, practically vibrated out of the gate room, and they didn’t see him again for three days. 

*** 

They stuck to unpopulated planets, but gossip still got around about a man with wings traveling with AR-1. By mutual agreement, the team decided it would be safer for Rodney to let people see him for themselves, and quash any wild speculations. Besides, as Ronon put it, unpopulated worlds were boring.

John wasn't sure if the Athosians even had a word for angel, but of course they'd taken Rodney right in stride. Gradually, others got used to seeing an angel on John's team and he began to relax. But, he still kept Rodney away from any planets with known Genii sympathizers. 

Thus far, the only danger they'd run into were people falling all over themselves trying to get a better look at Rodney's wings. Rodney would glare. Ronon would spin his ray gun, and that was usually enough to keep any curious natives from crowding in too close. 

Then they ran into the natives on PX9-338.

John blamed himself for what happened next. After so many peaceful missions, he'd forgotten the Genii weren't the only ones that might try to take advantage of Rodney.

"Ronon, can you get loose?" John tugged hard at his bindings tearing off a layer of skin in the process. 

"Not yet." Ronon threw his entire weight against his bonds, leaving him panting with the effort. "I think I felt the stake loosen."

"Teyla, what about you?" John asked. "Does anyone know what happened? Where's Rodney?"

Teyla looked furious. "One of them must have slipped something into our drinks to render us unconscious." She tugged at her bindings, as close to snarling as John had ever seen her. "They took my knife. Ronon, do you still have one?"

"Should. I don't think they found them all." Ronon gave another massive heave and John saw the stake wobble. Good. That meant it was just a matter of time before they were free, but where the hell was Rodney?

The next time Ronon threw all of his weight into the effort. The stake toppled over and he made short work of getting loose. He didn't waste any time grabbing one of the knives hidden in his hair, and cutting them all free. 

John motioned for them to be quiet. He pulled aside the tent flap just enough to see outside. "Guys, you've got to see this."

Rodney stood in the center of the village with his wings outspread. His face was red, and his hands moved through the air, punctuating his speech. John could only catch a word every now and then, but it was clear this was Rodney's floorshow. The natives were actually cowering in front of him.

John heard enough to realize that the natives had tried to start a new religion with Rodney as their Godhead. Clearly, that hadn't gone over well. He wasn't sure how much time passed while they were drugged and tied up, but at least they'd gotten free in time to see Rodney in magnificent, full rant mode. 

By the time the angel finished berating the natives, even their hardened warriors looked ready to cry. Those that hadn't already turned and run away were cowered at Rodney's feet. John, Ronon and Teyla had nothing left to do but gather Rodney up, and head back to Atlantis. 

It was the most fun John had ever had writing up a report.

*** 

After a quick trip to the mess, John headed to their apartment. He walked through the door with a smile saying, "Hey buddy, I brought you something." He held out a tray holding two bowls of blue jello. 

"Thank you, John." Rodney's smile didn't light up the room the way it usually did, and instead of grabbing the dessert, he took the tray and set it down on the table. 

"You were great today." John's fondness for the angel had grown since they'd met. He knew now that Rodney's presence didn't pose any kind of threat. Hell, he'd eat his socks before he'd ever suggest otherwise. The passage of time had revealed Rodney's true mettle and left John feeling proud of the … of his angel.

"You're shaking." John led Rodney over to the couch and encouraged him to sit down. They'd purposely picked a couch with a low back so that Rodney could spread his wings without feeling cramped. John pulled a chair up to sit across from him scooting forward until they were almost knee to knee. "What's wrong?"

"You saw them so you know what they wanted me to do." Rodney's hollow voice was whisper-soft. "That's how it started with the Ori. False worship – it went straight to their heads." Rodney reached out and clasped John's hand in a desperate grip. "We can never, never let that happen here. John, if… if something happens and I ever try something like that, you have to kill me. Don't hesitate, just do it. Promise me?"

"It won't come to that, Rodney. I won't let it. That's my promise."

John could see it in Rodney's eyes, he was reliving moments of the battle between the angels and the Ori. All of his pain, loss, and desperation of those days were written across his face. While John had experienced some of it in their shared dreams, he wondered now if Rodney had protected him from seeing the worst of it. 

John hadn't meant to, but somehow he'd managed to almost crawl into Rodney's lap. He'd had some vague idea of giving a comforting hug, but instead he ended up with an armful of angel. "This wasn't …I didn't mean...."

"No, it's good. I like it." Rodney laid his head on John's shoulder. It took several long minutes, but slowly the tension eased from Rodney's body and he snuggled a little closer to John.

It was comforting for John too which surprised him. Bravely he reached out and stroked some of Rodney's golden feathers. They were as soft as he imagined, and he was tempted to sink his fingers in as deeply as he could. "Is this okay?"

Rodney nodded, almost nuzzling John's neck.

"Okay. That's good." They stayed like that on the couch for awhile. John wished he could do more to comfort Rodney, but at least this was a start.

"Hey, there's something I've been meaning to ask you," John said. "Teyla and Ronon said my face changes when I look at you. You wouldn't happen know anything about that? Not that I'm sure I believe them, but, ah, they said it glows."

Rodney sat up straight, leaving John's shoulder feeling bare and cold. "Oh. You mean the Radiance."

"The Radiance?" John jumped off the couch stared down at Rodney. "You knew about this?"

"Well yes, of course. In my defense, it's not really something I can control."

"Not something you can control, but you knew about it! Of all the...." John started pacing, unable to stand still. 

"Yes, I told you that I knew. Didn't you hear me?" Rodney stood, blocking John's path. Or do you, for some inexplicable reason, lose brain cells whenever you cuddle, Sheppard?"

"We were not cuddling!"

"Oh really. Because as I recall there was definitely some cuddling and some feather fondling going on, on that couch right there, just a few minutes ago."

John clenched his jaw. He could keep denying the cuddling but not the other thing – the feather thing. Maybe he could minimize the damage. 

"Ha! You call that fondling? Stroking maybe. But that's all I'll admit to."

"Oh. Well that's a shame because you're actually very good it," Rodney snapped back.

"Good, I'm glad you liked it!" John paused. "You really liked it?"

Rodney huffed and raised his chin. 

"Look, I'm sorry for flying off the handle. Can you please explain to me what the Radiance is and how I got it?"

"I guess I do owe you that. I don't suppose if I said – it's an angel thing – you'd let it go?"

"Not a chance." John folded his arms across his chest, prepared to wait for as long as this took.

Rodney's wings rhythmically furled and released in what John had come to realize equaled pacing in a human. 

"Oddly enough, the Radiance doesn't happen between angels. And, by that, I mean when one angel takes a certain, special interest in another angel. But, when an angel takes that kind of interest in a human the Radiance occurs. "

"You've taken a special interest in me?" John asked, feeling stunned.

"A certain, special interest, yes." Rodney hung his head and looked at John through his eyelashes. "It probably escaped your attention, but once I accessed the system, I could have gone to any gate destination. I came here, to Atlantis, because of you."

Rodney took a step closer. "I suspect you already know that the Radiance won't happen unless the human has an interest in the angel, too."

"But I didn't even trust you," John protested.

Rodney smiled at him with that crooked smile that always made John want to kiss it off his face. "Which makes it all the more interesting, don't you think?"

John cleared his throat. "So, feather fondling, I could be persuaded to do a little more of that."

With devilish smile, Rodney curled his fingers into John's shirtfront and tugged. "I thought you'd never ask."

That was an invitation John couldn't refuse. His hands roamed gently over Rodney's wings finding spots that made the angel hum with pleasure. He couldn't seem to stop, and when Rodney's wings rose up and encircled him, John wondered if he'd gone too far. Because, if he took this as far as he wanted to, it might be more than Rodney could handle. He was an angel after all, and John was entertaining some very un-angelic thoughts. 

His worry eased when he felt Rodney's hand working its way up under his shirt. 

"Guess this is all right then? Because I think we're about to go way past feather fondling," John said.

"God, I hope so."

John froze. "That was – did you just ask…?" John pointed up towards the ceiling.

"A prayer? Yes. And hopefully not the only one answered tonight."

Rodney waggling his eyebrows at him in an attempted leer looked so ridiculous that John had no choice but to kiss him. Had to, to get him to stop making that face, and because…oh, tongue. Mm, yeah.

That was John's last coherent thought for a while.

*** 

"Guys, Elizabeth ordered us to take a break from off world missions for awhile." John wished there'd been a good way to break the news to his team. In the end, he decided it was just best to get it over with. Announcing it over team breakfast at least assured they had the news before it hit the city's grapevine. 

"I gather she is concerned there could be a repeat of what happened on PX9-338." Teyla sighed. "Elizabeth is doing as she feels best, but it seems wrong to let one incident affect all of our future missions."

"What she said." Ronon crunched down on his last piece of bacon with a show of teeth. He chewed slowly letting the time drag by before adding. "Did you to agree to it?"

"She is my boss." John shrugged. "Rodney? Anything you'd care to add?" 

Ever since Zelenka had introduced him to coffee, Rodney tended to shut out everything else while drinking it. Sometimes John wondered if he was drinking it, communing with it, or praying to the coffee beans gods over it. Something he had no intention of asking. Ever.

"Me?" Rodney set his empty cup down. "It would be nice to explore the city for a change." He looked around their table, finally noticing everyone else's expression. "Um, wouldn't it?"

Since they were stuck in the city and their options were limited, by way of an apology, John let his team pick the places they wanted to explore first. The first couple of labs turned into a bust, but this next one, Teyla's pick, looked promising.

"Surprisingly little flood damage," Rodney observed. "Shine your flashlight over here, John. I just have to switch this crystal…there." 

The soft click proved Rodney right and the door opened. John was about to take point when Ronon laid his hand on his shoulder. "Sheppard, let someone without the gene go first."

"Good idea." John took a step back and let Ronon move ahead of him. "See anything?"

"Maybe. There's some consoles in here." Ronon stepped deeper into the room. There's something sticking out of the wall. It's as long as my arm and looks like an overgrown crystal." Ronon holstered his blaster. "Seems okay."

Rodney tried to elbow his way in past John. "The crystal must be some kind of power source. Sheppard, let me by!"

"Hang on there." John grabbed Rodney's sleeve. Let's just make sure all the power is off. Remember the trouble Zelenka ran into with the Ascension machine? Let's not take any chances."

John stepped into the room next. Nothing buzzed, tingled, or in any other way indicated that this part of Atlantis had power running to it. "Okay, it's safe to come in."

Rodney immediately sat his laptop up next to the crystal and began doing his sciencey stuff. Teyla began inspecting the rest of the equipment, and Ronon looked bored. 

John thought the overlarge crystal resembled some reject from a salt mine. It looked rough and cloudy without the usual clarity or polish he was used to seeing in the Ancient crystals. He very carefully kept his thoughts away from thinking – on. He just hadn't realized thinking about fixing its appearance would also fire the damn thing up.

Waves of energy began flowing over it. That was the only warning they had before lasers began shooting out from the crystal's surface. The first barrage narrowly missed John. Rodney yelped, and dropped behind the protection of the nearest console. Ronon toppled over a workbench and he and Teyla used it for cover. That left John standing in the middle the room, unprotected and with no way to reach safety without getting fried.

Thinking _off_ had no effect. John crouched down, hoping to make himself less of a target. Despite the danger, Rodney swooped in, wrapped his wings around John and yelled at him to keep his head down. John did. 

"Sheppard, hang on!" Ronon fired at the device and kept firing until the laser beams finally fizzled to a stop. "Are you all right?"

Teyla came running up. "Oh no, Rodney." She reached for her radio. "Dr. Beckett, we have a medical emergency. Please come quickly."

She continued to rattle information off to Carson while John struggled to stand. "Come on, Rodney, let me up. I'm fine." He shoved at Rodney's arms to get loose and then staggered when Rodney's full weight collapsed on top of him. "Rodney?"

"He's gravely injured, John. His wings…." Teyla helped John lay Rodney on the floor. 

"I don't know how he did it," Ronon gripped John's shoulder, "but the lasers never touched you. 

"Could he have somehow used his wings to absorb the energy?" Teyla asked, staring down at the ruin of Rodney's wings. 

"We'll ask him when he comes to." And Rodney would wake up. John refused to accept any other option. 

Things moved quickly once the med team arrived. The transporter wasn't big enough to allow Carson, the gurney, and John all in at the same time, so John had to let go of Rodney's hand. "I'll be right behind you, buddy." It was the longest seven seconds of John's life. 

*** 

When Carson walked in, John was the first one on his feet. "How is he?"

"I'm sure you'll be glad to hear he's ready for visitors." Carson halted John with a look. "Be gentle with him. I couldn't save his wings. The damage was too severe. 

Teyla asked the question no one wanted to face. "Did you have to amputate?" 

"No, lass. Nature seems to be taking care of it." Best you go on in then you can see for yourselves."

The sounds of Rodney's strident voice was music to John's ears. 

"Nurse Marie is a bully! Carson do something! She cut me off from my fair share of blue jello." Rodney turned his wide, pleading eyes on John. "John, spring me out of this place. I'll…I'll even tell you where I hid the good coffee beans."

John frowned. "Carson? Is he well enough to leave?"

"Aye, as long as he has someone to look after him."

"By that, he means spy on me." After a deep sigh, Rodney added. "As if I wouldn't report it if my condition changes. Have you met me?"

John wavered. He wanted to get Rodney home – wanted to have the time and privacy to check over every inch of him. On the other hand, his wings looked worse than they had the day he'd first stumbled through the Stargate. 

"Rodney's general health is fine. He is losing his feathers, not surprising considering the amount of damage they sustained. However, that seems to be giving him no more trouble than it does to a chicken when it's molting," Carson said.

"And thank you, oh so much for that imagery." Rodney pushed the blankets away and swung his legs over the edge of the bed. "Leaving now."

With a toodle-oo wave of his fingers, Rodney jumped off the bed. Barefoot and wearing nothing but pajama bottoms he headed for the door. 

It took a nudge from Carson before John could tear his gaze away from Rodney's back. The remaining feathers had been cleaned, trimmed, and all the burnt patches were gone. But he'd lost a third of his wing length and as he walked, feathers came loose and drifted to the floor.

"Go on, get after him," Carson urged. "And make sure he eats something besides that bloody blue jello."

John caught up in a few strides. Rodney wasn't moving very fast. Pasting a smile on his face, he asked, "Up for some pizza?"

"As long as there's coffee to go with it," Rodney nudged John's side.

John knew then that it was going to be all right. Still, something tight lodged in his chest with each feather that dropped and turned into a tiny pile of golden dust.

By morning they were gone. They lay in bed, John propped up on one elbow as he contemplated Rodney's smooth, unblemished skin. It made it seem like they'd never existed. John knew better. His eyes tracked the last traces of gold-flecked ash floating like dust motes in the air. 

"There is an upside you know," Rodney mumbled, looking sleep-messed and warm. 

"Did I wake you?" 

"By your quiet staring? Not so much, no." Rodney cocked his head, far too perceptive for this early in the morning. "It's not all bad, you know. Now that I look more human we can go off world as a team again." Rodney's wan smile did nothing to convince John that everything was okay. 

"Unless…"Rodney continued, carefully watching John's face."You can't workup an interest in me without the wings?"

"Idiot. It's not the wings, it's never been about the wings." Sure, he'd miss certain things about them, but the wings didn't make Rodney who he was, or what he meant to John. 

John gently drew his thumb across Rodney's mouth. "Does this hurt?" 

Rodney shook his head no.

"How about this?" John pressed a kiss onto Rodney's forehead.

"No."

"Hmm, well then, how about this?" John kissed his favorite place on Rodney's chest, right over his generous heart.

"Do you mean aside from killing me with frustration?" Rodney snapped. 

"Did you just growl? Now is that polite behavior for an angel?"

"Polite? Rodney kicked the covers off and let his naked thighs fall open in invitation. "If all you're interested in is politeness…."

John licked his lips. "Rude is good too."

*** 

They were all glad to be back on the off world mission roster. During the first few contact missions, John kept waiting for the other shoe to drop. Beyond a few stares in Rodney's direction, not much else happened. If anything, everyone seemed overly careful about not mentioning Rodney's lack of wings.

The explanation came from Ronon. "Word's out, Sheppard. People know he lost them saving your life. They respect it."

"How in hell did that happen?"

Ronon didn't answer but the twitch at the corner of his mouth gave John a damn good idea of how people were finding out.

Gradually, the stares changed to puzzled glances. Occasionally someone would press a small bag of not-coffee beans into Rodney's hand. Rodney would get flustered and huff, or roll his eyes then turn around and mourn that it happened less and less often these days.

Sometimes John would catch himself rubbing his fingertips together, the sense memory of those golden feathers just out of reach.

Whenever Rodney noticed, he dragged John off to some place private and insisted John smooth his hands over Rodney's back to create a new sense memory. That it led to mutual blowjobs, more often than not, didn't hurt.

"I think I'm getting better at this, don't you?" Rodney stood up and wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.

"Uh..." John answered dumbly. He sagged against the wall, his pants hung down to his ankles, and his knees couldn't win a race against that blue jello Rodney liked so much. "Huh."

Rodney smiled brilliantly back at him. "Need help getting up?"

Smug bastard. John sighed, gave in, and held out his hand so that Rodney could pull him upright.

*** 

John cracked open an eye at the beeping of the alarm. He sat up, and rubbed a hand over his bristles. Unfortunately, they'd be no messing around in bed with Rodney this morning. Today they had an anniversary to celebrate and he had Marines to organize.

Another year had passed and Elizabeth expected everyone to join in celebrating another year of survival. They'd survived the Wraith, the Genii and the IOA. Frankly, John thought they should all be awarded medals for surviving that last one. 

He turned to wake Rodney, and froze. It was impossible to miss the shimmer of golden fuzz running along both of the angel's shoulder blades. If John was right, and he knew he was, Rodney's wings were beginning to grow back. 

Still dumbstruck by this new development, a slow smile started to spread across his face. He didn't have a doubt in the world that this time gravity wasn't going to be a problem. Oh yeah, one more thing John was sure of.

This time he's going to get Rodney to take him flying.


End file.
